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It’s finally here! After two years of hardwork, imagination, and lots of tea, Mark of the Raven is finally here. YEAH!!! This is an amazing story of my heart and I hope that it will touch your hearts as well. As always, thank you, readers, for your encouragement and support of my work. Enjoy!

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If you’re just joining us, the hunt begins at www.LisaBergren.com, with Stop #1. If you complete the loop of 26 stops and write down the clue on each author’s site, you can enter to win all 25 books as well as Amazon gift cards, an iPad and more!

Without further ado, it’s my pleasure to introduce you to my guest for the Scavenger Hunt, Jody Hedlund! I’ve only known Jody by name and by her books (which are fantastical, by the way!), but recently I was able to meet her in person. She was kind to a shy author like me and made me feel welcome. So when I discovered I would be hosting her on my blog, I was excited!

Jody Hedlund is the best-selling author of over twenty historicals for both adults and teens and is the winner of numerous awards including the Christy, Carol, and Christian Book Award. When she’s not penning another of her page-turning stories, she loves to spend her time reading, especially when it also involves consuming coffee and chocolate.

Here’s the summary of her latest book:

Sophie Neumann and her two young charges join a group of orphans heading west by train, hoping to find safety and a happy life. When the train stops in Illinois for the first placement of orphans, Sophie faces the most difficult choice of her life. Reinhold Weiss has finally purchased his own small farm. With mounting debts, a harvest to bring in, and past scars that haunt him, he’s in no position to give his heart away . . . but can he say no when his long-lost friend shows up on a nearby train pleading for his help?

I’ve recently entered a new stage of life where my home is beginning to empty. Three of my five kids are away at college. And the two left are very independent.

Not only does my new stage entail more uninterrupted writing time, but I’ve also found myself having more free time too.

Free time?! *Gasp* What is that?!

To be honest, I haven’t had free time in so long that I don’t know how to relax very well anymore. Rather than enjoy the down time, sometimes I drum up more work for myself.

Even though I listen to audio books and wind down with a book in bed, I’ve always dreamed about having more reading time. And yet, those few evenings when I’ve allowed myself the pleasure of sitting down with a book, I admit, I always feel slightly guilty. Often, instead of losing myself in a book, I make myself do other “more productive” things like bake or take a walk or finally clear out the dying flowers in the pots on the front porch.

The truth is, it’s all too easy to let reading take a back burner, isn’t it?

But the other truth I’ve learned over the years is that there will ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS be something demanding our attention. Our modern culture is a harsh task master with never-ending to-do lists. Our society subtly sends us the message that the busier we are the better off we’ll be.

So we get ourselves and our kids involved in everything until we’re running ourselves ragged. We’re on the go most of the time, and our down-time turns into staring at the TV screen because we’re too tired to do anything else.

We need to add white space back in to our lives that have become over-crowded. Can we even say that if we don’t add in white space—quiet, meditative, sedentary time to our daily schedules—we run the risk of increasing physical and mental health breakdown?

My challenge to myself and to you, is to buy one of the books on this scavenger hunt or check one out from the library. Then make time in the day (or evening) to read it—without feeling guilty.

And if you’re already an avid reader, then make a point of sending a friend or relative to this scavenger hunt. Tell them about your favorite authors. And encourage them to read more.

What about you? Do YOU ever feel guilty for reading? Why or why not? Do you agree that many of us need to clear more white space into our lives, including time for pleasure reading?

***

Thanks for stopping by on the hunt! Before you go, make sure you WRITE DOWN THIS CLUE:

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Hello friends! It’s my pleasure to introduce you to a brand new fantasy series by my friend Ralene Burke! I had the pleasure of reading this story a couple years ago and its exciting to finally see it in print! Sacred quests, a prophetess-queen, and powerful armor, this has lots of fantasy flare for all fantasy readers 🙂 First, here is the cover:

A world in danger. A queen betrayed. A bounty hunter bent on revenge.

The death of her king changes Karina’s life forever. Fleeing the royal house, she must leave her life behind to seek out the Armor of the Creator–to save the very people who now hunt her.

Faramos, the evil warlock waiting to unleash hell, knows the Creator has already chosen his warrior, so he sends his bounty hunter to retrieve her. After Tristan abducts her, he witnesses Karina’s gentle nature and strong independence, and he finds he can’t complete his assignment.

Together, they set out to retrieve the armor and defeat the hordes of creatures sent to destroy them. But is Tristan’s heart secure as he faces certain death for defending the queen? And will Karina have the courage to become all the Creator intends her to be? Failure will condemn the world to eternal darkness.

Whether she’s wielding a fantasy writer’s pen, a social media wand, or a freelance editor’s sword, Ralene Burke always has her head in some dreamer’s world. And her goal is to help everyone SHINE BEYOND their circumstances! Her novels, Bellanok and Armor of Aletheia are available on Amazon.

When her head’s not in the publishing world, she is wife to a veteran and homeschooling mama to their three kids. Her Pinterest board would have you believe she is a master chef, excellent seamstress, and all around crafty diva. If she only had the time . . .

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Let me tell you a story. I’ve served in children’s ministry for years. At one point, the area I served in chose to pause over the summer. When we started back up in the fall, the response we received wasn’t, “Thanks! I appreciate having a safe place for my child to be during service.” or “How was your summer? Did you get some rest?” or “I am so grateful for you guys.” It was, “Will you provide children’s ministry again?” I and those who served with me had become nameless helpers who’s only job was to serve in children’s ministry and nothing more. It hurt.

Sometimes I wonder if that’s how we treat our pastors. Being married to a pastor means I see more than most people get to see: I see how much my husband prays for the church he is serving at, I see how many hours he prays and pours over God’s Word and books so that he can preach every week in hopes of bringing people closer to God, I see when he wakes up at 3am to pray for the church or to write down a sermon idea (Dan plans out his sermons almost a year in advance, tweaking where he needs to and changing when he feels God leading him otherwise. In other words, he works very hard!). Not only that, he meets with the brokenhearted, connects with other pastors in the area so they can hold each other accountable, and constantly is reading, listening to podcasts, and learning from other Christians leaders so he can be as faithful of a pastor as he can be, along with leading his family and loving us.

But sometimes I think he, along with many other pastors, become faceless servants of the church. He’s expected to preach, that’s what he’s paid to do, right? (note: most pastors are paid very little). And he’s here for the congregations’s benefit, to make the church a happy and safe place for everyone. And if people don’t like it, it’s all right to complain until change happens.

Instead of appreciating our pastors, we treat them the same way I was treated at the end of the summer. “Will you provide ______ again? Will you preach what I want to hear? Will you provide the ministry I want to be part of? Will you meet all of my spiritual and emotional needs?” (which honestly, only God can do that, not your pastor).

This month is Pastor Appreciation month. Instead of wondering what your pastor can do next for you, take a moment instead and just say, “thank you.” Thanks for being my pastor. Thank you for loving us and praying for us. I’m thankful God brought you here.

You might not realize how much your pastor might need to hear these words.

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The #metoo movement and recent exposure of sexual harassment and more in the Christian publishing world has made me take a closer look at how romance is portrayed in stories. What I’ve discovered has given me pause. The very things and situations we are condemning in the real world have quietly slip into books and perhaps it’s time to take a look at these situations and ask are we feeding into the very thing we want to abolish?

I’ll give two examples. In a recent webcomic I’ve been reading, the female main character has clearly shown her heart to be attached to one character. But another male character continues to intrude into her space (pinning her to the wall, making suggestive comments, and trying to kiss her). It’s the usual love triangle, but I can’t help but think if this was going on in the real world, this character is crossing lines when it comes to this woman. She’s told him no, and he’s not respecting her words, or her space, or her being. It might seem romantic since he’s a hot, muscly, sexy guy, which hormones can make it seem like the woman is being pulled toward him (and she is, because hormones), but she doesn’t like the guy.

Another example is from the manga/anime Seven Deadly Sins. The main character repeatedly looks up the female character’s skirt. At first she doesn’t know what to think, then she shyly tells him no. And she keeps telling him now, but he keeps on doing it. It’s a running joke and one that is disrespectful, rude, and definitely crossing lines. And he’s the hero of the story!

These are just two examples I see in stories (I won’t even talk about Fifty Shades of you know what). Situations and scenes where a man is using his power, influence, and ability to seduce a woman. This is not romantic, my friends. This is predatory and not how I would want my daughters pursued by a man!

The strongest, most romantic man is the one who looks beyond his desires and wants to do what’s best for the woman he loves. He shows her respect. He listens to her words. He acts with integrity. Does this mean he’s a prude? Not at all! It means he keeps his heart and his actions in check even when he is longing for her.

As writers, one way we can help the readers in our sphere of influence is to show what real romance looks like, and to shun scenes where a man is taking advantage of a woman (and vice versa). If we want to help stop this predatory view of love, it starts with the love scenes in our books. Let us create male characters who are passionate, but keep their hearts in check and show respect and decency toward female characters. And female characters who stand up for themselves and tell a man firmly no (and that is perfectly okay for a woman to say no to a man, and for a man to listen). Perhaps by doing this, we can help usher in a real world of decency, integrity, and respect for both men and women.

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Hello friends! To celebrate Awakened being a Carol Award finalist, I’m excited to share that the ebook versions of both Tainted and Awakened are on sale! Yeah! So if you haven’t read my Frankenstein-style Victorian steampunk story about a young woman turning into a monster from the inside out, now is your chance. And just in time for some great October reading 🙂

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Hey everyone! Who’s excited for the release of Mark of the Raven (Me! Me!)? As we draw closer to November, I am now putting together a team of readers who want to help me not only launch this book, but any books in the future (such as Flight of the Raven coming in July 2019 ;).

I was thinking up some names for this group (Morgan’s Minions? Nah. Morgan’s Monkeys? Nah. Morgan’s Monsters? Nah.). As you can tell, I’m having a hard time. So I’ll put that aside for now (but if you have an awesome name, please PM me!). Until then, I’ll explain how you can become part of this group of amazing readers and receive a free book 🙂

Here are my requirements:

Be willing to read the book.

Must leave a honest review of the book on your choice of book site (Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes and Noble, etc…) within a month of the book release.

Share on one or more social media sites (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc…) leading up to and on the release date.

Now you might be thinking, “I already do this because I love your books!” That’s kind of what I was thinking because that’s what awesome readers do :). But for clarity’s sake, I thought I should share what is expected of book influencers.

So are you interested? Want to help me with the release of Mark of the Raven and future books? Then click on the link below and fill out the form. I’m looking for engaging readers, so not everyone will be chosen for this opportunity, and spots are limited, so don’t wait.

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I don’t know about you, but I had a lot of fun seeing all the raven tattoos all over the internet! Thank you, my friends and readers, for sharing your excitement for my next series and letting others know. Now for the real reason you’re reading this post 😉

Ready?

Are you sure?

Okay, here you go!

Congratulations to these three people who have each won a signed copy of Mark of the Raven!

Caleb Lang

Andrew King

Marla Schultz

Yeah!!! I have privately contacted each of you and you will be receiving a signed copy of Mark of the Raven in November. If you were not one of the winners, take heart, there will be more chances to win a signed copy as the release date for the Mark of the Raven draws near, so be watching for a blog post or newsletter announcement. And if you haven’t already pre-ordered, Christianbook.com currently as the paperback available for $9.99 (best price right now and better than coffee at Starbucks 😉

~Morgan

Here’s what others are saying about Mark of the Raven:

“Mark of the Raven grabbed me from the first moment and didn’t let go. Cliché to say? Maybe. Doesn’t make it any less true. Layered characters, an epic storyline, and strong writing make this a tale to be savored.”

—James L. Rubart, bestselling author of The Man He Never Was

“Stunning! Mark of the Raven is a captivating adventure that plumbs the depths of humanity’s soul. Busse’s deftly drawn characters offer a refreshing break from the tropes of most fantasy novels. I can’t wait for the next book!”

“Mark of the Raven is a rich fantasy set in a world of great powers and dark secrets. Fast-paced and sure to please, Morgan Busse has delivered a novel that sticks with you. When you wake from your next nightmare, try to tell yourself ‘It was just a dream.’”

—Patrick W. Carr, author of The Darkwater Saga

“A great new fantasy adventure from Morgan L. Busse, Mark of the Raven fulfills every expectation. This fast-paced heroic fantasy was a pleasure to read with its with dreamwalkers, political machinations, mystery, romance, and a world on the brink of war. Readers will be transfixed as Lady Selene struggles with the calling placed upon her. I’m so looking forward to the next book in the series.”

—Jill Williamson, Christy Award-winning author of The Kinsman Chronicles and Blood of Kings

“Contrasting an atmosphere of dark politics against the illumination of hope, Mark of the Raven took flight on the page, swooping me into its magically layered yet fully accessible world. With vividly conflicted characters and danger lurking around every bend, this series starter left me breathless for its sequel. Brilliant!”

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Here it is! The first giveaway for the first book in my new fantasy series, Mark of the Raven!

When I was brainstorming creative swag for Mark of the Raven, a friend suggested temporary tattoos of the raven symbol from my book. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how brilliant that was (you know, “mark” of the raven, heehee). Here’s the final tattoo image:

I am offering these tattoos exclusively to those attending Realm Makers and to all my readers for free. And if you want to enter the contest I’m holding for Mark of the Raven, here’s the guide:

1) Take tattoo and place it somewhere (on your arm, on your computer, on your friend’s forehead).
2) Take picture of tattoo.
3) Post picture on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, say something about Mark of the Raven, and tag Morgan L. Busse.
4) Three winners will be chosen on August 15, 2018, so post your picture before then.

Yes, three winners will receive a signed copy of Mark of the Raven when it comes out in November! Yeah!

So how do you get your tattoo? I mail one to you 🙂 If you want to enter (or just want one of these fabulous tattoos, or a couple to give to friends and family), please email me your address (morganlbusse@live.com). I will do nothing more with your address than mail you how many tattoos you want (and mail you a book if you win!).